Portland cement (PC) concrete has historically been the most commonly used construction material within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), however, as the demand increases to reduce CO2 emissions most of newly-built facilities make use of modern concrete formulations adopting various PC substitutes, and these ‘blended cements’ typically involve mineral admixtures such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF). The percentage of PC replaced in these concrete mixtures varies depending on the type of cement and design criteria as well as other related issues such as fire resistance. The use of PC replacements in ready-mixed concrete has been made obligatory in Dubai from 1st April 2015. This recent move towards using greener concretes has been implemented with little research on their heat resistant properties and as such an understanding of their behaviour on exposure to high temperatures in structural fires is limited. Furthermore, the applicability of forensic engineering techniques for the assessment of any deterioration in these concrete formulations is largely untested. For this reason, a range of analytical techniques have been investigated as part of this research in order to establish the chemical and physical changes taking place as well as the practical applicability of the techniques used. Three key areas were addressed as part of this research. Firstly, a review of urban fires in Dubai and a survey of fire investigation related issues within the region was undertaken. This formed a base from which the research questions could be refined. Secondly, nine concrete mixtures were assessed using 15 analytical techniques. The concrete mixtures were exposed to 4 temperatures (150°C, 300°C, 600°C, and 900°C) within a muffle furnace and the chemical, mineralogical, physical and mechanical changes were investigated using TGA, DSC, FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDX, BET surface area, residual compressive strength, density loss, carbonation depth, visual colour change, rebound hammer, UPV, portable 3D laser scanning and micro CT scanning. Finally, a set of test concrete mixtures most closely linked to those used in construction in the UAE were exposed to a real fire and were analysed post fire using a reduced set of the analytical techniques. The techniques were assessed as to how well they could define the temperature range to which the concrete had been exposed as well as ascertaining the degree of concrete degradation based on the confirmation of the chemical, mineralogical, physical and mechanical changes which had occurred. Findings indicate that the use of blended cement concrete improves the thermal resistance of the material when compared with PC concrete up to a certain temperature, usually below 600°C. Discolouration in heated concrete sections were visualised using simple digital photography. Changing the cement composition influenced the rate of carbon ingress into the concrete matrix, however this did not result in any significant colour change in heated mortar surfaces. By contrast, colour changes within the aggregates was observed at temperatures > 300°C and was strongly determined by the mineralogy of the material. The analytical data demonstrated that there were three temperature regions that provide measurable data and information to inform fire investigators of the thermal history experienced by the concrete matrix. Between 70°C-200°C the evaporation of non-chemically bound water and dissociation of ettringite, gypsum and gel-like calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) occur, and can be detected using a range of the techniques used. The heat flux required for these reactions to occur was greater in all mixtures containing GGBS. Observed chemical and physical transformations between 300°C and 500°C were mainly due to the oxidation of iron hydroxide and the dehydroxylation of portlandite. Further chemical changes at 650°C and above were identified as a direct result of the decarbonation of CaCO3. At elevated temperatures, the absence of certain minerals within the concrete formulations provided an indication of the temperature which would have been reached by the concrete matrix. It was also revealed that in some cases the minerals present rehydrated during cooling of the concrete and this was also detectable using a number of the analytical methods employed. For the test samples exposed to real fire conditions, the rebound hammer, UPV and compressive strength measurements all provided good indications of physical losses experienced by the concrete, however these methods were not good estimators of the exposure temperature. The results from TGA, DSC and FTIR in particular were more reliable but differed from the reference models in that water used in suppression and absorbed by the concrete affected some of the predicted features. XRD also revealed peaks which could be related to various phases of change within the concrete, which was helpful in revealing the thermal history of concrete. Discolouration of cross-sections of the concrete samples produced trends similar to the lab-heated specimens however this was hard to visualise on the surface of the concrete due to the soot layer resulting from the fire. The results characterised, for the first time, chemical and physical changes occurring within a range of concrete mixtures used in the UAE and linked these to specific temperature ranges to which the concrete were exposed. Furthermore, this work has demonstrated that a number of the analytical techniques used can be helpful in the determination of the thermal history of concrete which has been exposed to fire conditions.

Nesse trabalho apresentamos um estudo da evolução histórica das principais técnicas de pesca utilizadas pelos pescadores caiçaras do litoral do estado de São Paulo, Brasil, a partir da década de 1910, buscando relacionar as transformações técnicas com as mudanças socioambientais ocorridas na costa paulista. Estudamos as técnicas de pesca a partir da evolução dos petrechos (ferramentas de pesca e acessórios), dos materiais (do que são feitos os petrechos), dos métodos (como são usados os petrechos) e das embarcações (como são utilizadas, conforme a escolha do método). Além das pesquisas bibliográficas e historiográficas, foram realizados trabalhos de campo com coleta de depoimentos de pescadores artesanais e industriais, além de pesquisadores e outras pessoas ligadas à atividade pesqueira. / In this work, we present a study of the historical evolution of the main fishing techniques used by traditional fishermen (known as \"caiçaras\") on the coast of the state of São Paulo, Brasil, from the 1910s on, seeking to relate the technical transformations to the social and environmental changes. We studied the fishing techniques from the evolution of fishing gears (fishing tools and accessories), materials (what the tools are made of), methods (how the tools are used) and vessels (how they are used, according to the chosen method). In addition to the literature and historiography researches, fieldworks were conducted to collect testimony from artisanal and industrial fishermen, as well as researchers and other people linked to the fishing activities.

Nesse trabalho apresentamos um estudo da evolução histórica das principais técnicas de pesca utilizadas pelos pescadores caiçaras do litoral do estado de São Paulo, Brasil, a partir da década de 1910, buscando relacionar as transformações técnicas com as mudanças socioambientais ocorridas na costa paulista. Estudamos as técnicas de pesca a partir da evolução dos petrechos (ferramentas de pesca e acessórios), dos materiais (do que são feitos os petrechos), dos métodos (como são usados os petrechos) e das embarcações (como são utilizadas, conforme a escolha do método). Além das pesquisas bibliográficas e historiográficas, foram realizados trabalhos de campo com coleta de depoimentos de pescadores artesanais e industriais, além de pesquisadores e outras pessoas ligadas à atividade pesqueira. / In this work, we present a study of the historical evolution of the main fishing techniques used by traditional fishermen (known as \"caiçaras\") on the coast of the state of São Paulo, Brasil, from the 1910s on, seeking to relate the technical transformations to the social and environmental changes. We studied the fishing techniques from the evolution of fishing gears (fishing tools and accessories), materials (what the tools are made of), methods (how the tools are used) and vessels (how they are used, according to the chosen method). In addition to the literature and historiography researches, fieldworks were conducted to collect testimony from artisanal and industrial fishermen, as well as researchers and other people linked to the fishing activities.

Les meules, pièces maîtresses et les mieux conservées des moulins, sont emblématiques des questions relatives à l’histoire de l’économie et des techniques.De l’économie, parce que l’analyse des roches meulières révèle une chaîne complexe de recherche des ressources, d’extraction, de mise en forme, de distribution et d’utilisation qui dépend d’une série de facteurs qui ne concernent pas seulement les meules mais peuvent s’appliquer à toutes sortes de productions artisanales répondant à des besoins primaires de subsistance.Des techniques, parce que l’amélioration des procédés de mouture est le fruit d’une transmission des savoir-faire techniques alliée à une recherche constante de la meilleure réponse possible à des besoins alimentaires qui eux-mêmes évoluent. Cette notion de progrès technique, que l’on observe à la fois sur le temps long (ici plus d’un millénaire) et à l’occasion de brèves transitions politico-culturelles (la conquête romaine de la Gaule puis les migrations germaniques), est à l’origine de profonds changements socio-économiques.Sur la base de travaux de terrain (prospections thématiques), d’analyses d’objets (les meules) et d’un tour d’horizon bibliographique, cette thèse présente une synthèse régionale sur un type de mobilier modeste mais structurant des sociétés et des économies anciennes. / Millstones, as the centerpieces and the best preserved elements of mills, are characteristic of the questions relating to the history of techniques and economics.Of economics, because analysis of the rocks from which they are made reveal a complex chain including their research, extraction, shaping, distribution and use. The factors on which this chain depends don’t only concern querns and millstones but can be applied to all types of craft production that answer to primary needs of subsistence.Of techniques because the improving of milling processes is due to a transmission of technical savoir-faire, mixed with a constant research for the best solution to evolving food needs. This notion of technical progress is observed both over a long time scale (1000 years) and during brief political and cultural transitions (the Roman conquest of Gaul, and the Germanic migrations). This evolution is the basis of deep social and economic changes.Based on field surveys, artifact analysis (querns and millstones) and a literature survey, this thesis presents a regional synthesis on a modest but structuring element of ancient societies and their economies.

Ce travail est basé sur une approche pluridisciplinaire des sources antiques ; les informations issues des sources écrites, de l’iconographie, des outils de tissage et des fragments textiles conservés, sont comparées pour créer une image aussi complète que possible de l’activité textile en Attique de l’époque classique. Cette étude révèle une activité textile très soutenue, divisée entre l’espace domestique et l’espace artisanal, occupant un grand nombre d’hommes et de femmes. Les Grecs anciens avaient hérité d’une grande tradition textile et d’un savoir-faire qui, comparé à la bonne connaissance du milieu naturel environnant, leur permettait de faire des choix (de matière première, de techniques de fabrication et de techniques d’ennoblissement) pour arriver chaque fois au résultat désiré. Des différences de qualité aux matières premières, aux techniques de fabrication et d’ennoblissement, évoquées dans la littérature de l’époque, indiquent l’existence de textiles de différentes qualités, qui répondaient aux besoins de toutes les couches sociales. / This study examines the textile production in classical Attica with an interdisciplinary method, which combines information from the written sources, the classical iconography, the textile production tools and the classical textile remains, in order to establish the most complete image possible of the textile activity in the classical period. The sources inform us of an elaborate textile industry and a high specialization of the professional technicians working in this domain. The Greeks have inherited a great textile tradition and technical knowledge, which, combined to their familiarity with the natural environment made them to be able to choose between raw materials, production and embellishment techniques in order to achieve the desired result. Differences in the quality of the raw materials, the production and embellishment techniques, as references in the literature, suggest the production of a great variety of textiles of different qualities in order to respond to the needs of all social classes.

Ce travail vise à étudier les techniques de fixation des statues sur leurs bases dans le monde grec, depuis la fin du VIIe s. jusqu’à la fin de l’époque hellénistique, à partir des bases inscrites. Il se fonde sur l’étude d’un corpus de 387 monuments ayant conservé des traces de fixation, à Delphes, Délos et Athènes, décrits et analysés dans un catalogue dédié. La première partie est consacrée à l’établissement d’une chrono-typologie des techniques de fixation visant à les caractériser en fonction du matériau, de la taille et du type de figure, et à les dater. La seconde partie s’attache à l’interprétation des traces de fixation en comme empreintes de la statue disparue. On a d’abord déterminé le type d’informations qu’elles pouvaient apporter sur elle, comme son matériau et sa taille, mais aussi son type et surtout sa position. On s’est ensuite intéressé aux bases signées, afin de dégager des traditions artisanales propres à des régions ou des ateliers, en croisant la fixation utilisée et les positions révélées par les traces. Enfin, on s’est interrogé sur les évolutions de l’utilisation des matériaux ; on a pu dégager le rôle des contextes d’exposition à partir de l’époque classique, et contribuer à élucider le retour du marbre à partir du IIe s. Cette étude entend par là contribuer aux recherches sur les techniques de fabrication autant qu’à celles sur la sculpture dans son contexte. / The study examines the techniques used to attach statues to their bases in the Greek world from the end of the 7th c. BC to the end of the Hellenistic period. Starting from bases bearing inscriptions, it builds on a corpus of 387 monuments from Delphi, Delos and Athens, showing traces of attachment. Their description and analysis can be found in a separated catalogue. In the first part of the study, a chrono‐typology was elaborated, identifying and dating each technique according to the material, the size and the type of the figures. In the second part, the traces of attachment were interpreted as signs of the missing statue. First, we showed that these traces brought information on its material and its size but also its type and its position. Then we focused on signed bases and proceeded to a cross‐examination of the kind of technique used and the position revealed by the traces in order to identify artisanal traditions specific to regions or workshops. Finally, we considered the reasons for using marble or bronze for statues; we thus showed the importance of the setting context from the classical period onward, as exemplified by the come-back of marble sculpture in the 2nd c. BC. The study is thus intended as a contribution to research both on attachment techniques and sculpture in its context.

Découvert dans les années 1970 sur le site palafitte aujourd’hui immergé du Crêt de Châtillon (lac d’Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France), le four de Sévrier, daté de l’âge du Bronze, est considéré comme un des plus anciens fours de potier d’Europe occidentale. Il incarne l’arrivée d’une nouvelle technologie qui marquera la disparition progressive des modes de cuisson en fosse ou en meule en usage depuis l’invention de la poterie. En cette fin de l’âge du Bronze l’acmé de l’art céramique, représenté par les productions de poteries fines, pouvait donc être lié à l’utilisation d’un tel dispositif. Le caractère unique de cette construction en argile, de dimensions modestes et à parois étonnamment minces, réside dans sa conception modulaire et portable. La découverte publiée en 1975 (Bocquet et Couren 1975) recueille aussitôt un échoeuropéen et près de quarante ans après, elle reste pratiquement sans équivalent. L’utilisation de fours de potier à l’âge du Bronze, dans un contexte occidental, demeure pourtant une question ouverte et depuis les années 80, l’interprétation avancée pour le four de Sévrier alimente régulièrement ce débat. L’objectif de cette thèse de doctorat est de porter un nouveau regard sur cet objet de référence quelque peu voilé par sa célébrité et réexaminer les hypothèses fonctionnelles non encore étudiées. Après une présentation du contexte et de l’historique de la découverte, un premier volet aborde différents aspects de l’objet archéologique: sa morphologie, sa conception, sa restauration, son comportement lors d’expérimentations de cuissons de céramiques, ses traits singuliers qui le rapprochent ou le distinguent des fours de potiers plus tardifs ou des structures d’argile à parois fines diversement interprétées. Notre analyse du four de Sévrier comporte trois volets : a) l’inventaire du matériel découvert sur le Crêt de Châtillon et l’intégration éventuelle d’éléments non pris en compte dans la reconstruction, b) une analyse archéométrique (minéralogie des argiles) portant sur les tessons du four et sur des argiles des gisements situés à proximité du Crêt de Châtillon. Une analyse des changements de phases des argiles cuites en fonction de l’intensité de la température, c) l’évaluation de la température minimale et maximale subie par le four afin de confirmer ou exclure certaines utilisations. L’analyse fonctionnelle du four aborde, en premier lieu, l’hypothèse privilégiée, celle consacrée à la cuisson des poteries. Une méthode expérimentale comparative permet de préciser les avantages et inconvénients de différents procédés de cuisson de poteries noires et cherche à évaluer l’apport technologique supposé avoir été introduit par le four de Sévrier. D’autres alternatives sont abordées, en particulier la fonction culinaire. Cette interprétation est confortée par la découverte d’inédits indices d’usages observés lors de cette étude sur des matériels similaires de même époque et provenance. L’inventaire des structures comparables constitue un autre volet de cette recherche. Elle témoigne de l’usage courant des structures de cuisson en argile de faible épaisseur aux âges du Bronze et du Fer. Leur diffusion géographique s’étend des Balkans à l’Espagne et de la Grande Bretagne à la Grèce. Le recensement d’une famille large et multiforme de dispositifs portables en argile à vocation domestique nous permet de poser les bases d’une typologie et de proposer un scénario d’évolution et d’influences entre des régions parfois très éloignées. / This study focuses on a unique archaeological finding from the Crêt de Châtillon, a late Bronze Age lacustrine village situated on a now submerged island in Lake Annecy (Haute-Savoie, France). The Sévrier kiln is considered to be one of the oldest pottery kiln in Western Europe. Over the years it has become internationally known and still forms the basis of research projects and experiments relating to Bronze Age ceramic technology. It embodies the arrival of a new technology that would mark the gradual disappearance of the open fire or pit firing modes that had been used since the invention of pottery. As such, the acme of ceramic art which marks the end of the Bronze Age, may therefore be related to the use of such a device. The uniqueness of this clay building of modest proportions and surprisingly thin walls, lies in it modular and portable design. The discovery, published in 1975 (Bocquet and Couren 1975) soon received a valuable feedback in Europe and nearly forty years later remains virtually unparalleled. However, the use of pottery kilns in the Bronze Age in a Western context remains an open question. Since the 1980s, several arguments will gradually undermine this interpretation. The purpose of this study is to take a fresh look at this inescapable object, somewhat veiled by its celebrity and review functional hypotheses hitherto not studied. After describing the background and the history of the discovery, we discuss various aspects of the archaeological kiln: morphology, design, restoration, use, experimentations and singular features that approximate or distinguish this furnace from later pottery kilns or thin-walled clay structures wich have been variously interpreted. This analysis of the kiln of Sévrier has been threefolds: (a) an inventory of the findings from the Crêt de Châtillon and a discussion about the integration of many components excluded from the reconstruction ; (b) archaeometric analysis (clay mineralogy) of the kiln and the clay deposits located near the site and (c) identification of the changing phases in clays, subjected to high temperatures and determination of the temperature experienced by the furnace. The functional analysis, reviews different hypotheses : (a) pottery firing : a comparative experimental method that aims to highlight the benefits and disadvantages of different processes to produce black pottery. The purpose is to underscore the technological contribution assumed to have been introduced by the Sévrier kiln. (b) Other functional alternatives will be discussed, especially the culinary function. This interpretation is supported by the discovery of unprecedented indices discovered during this study. The inventory of comparable structures is another aspect of this research. The relatively widespread use of such thin-walled clay structures during the Bronze and Iron ages is highlighted. Their geographical distribution extends from the Balkans to Spain and from Great Britain to Greece. The census of a multiform family of domestic portable clay ovens allows us to propose a new typology and a scenario of diffusion between regions sometimes very remote, completes this new outlook and draw new perspectives for the research.

Cette thèse propose une approche de l’orgue italien de la Renaissance qui croise les aspects sociaux, techniques et culturels de l’orgue afin de déterminer les spécificités des pratiques liées à l’orgue, des années 1430 jusqu’à la moitié du XVIe siècle. L’aménagement de deux tribunes d’orgues par Brunelleschi dans la cathédrale de Florence dans les années 1430 renouvelle radicalement la façon de concevoir la place de l’orgue au sens le plus concret (dans l’espace liturgique), mais aussi dans le champ symbolique. Ce changement de position demande aux facteurs d’adapter leurs techniques. Ces innovations sont autant de critères constitutifs de l’orgue dit a la moderna. Il est possible de suivre la diffusion des nouveaux canons esthétiques en Italie grâce aux déplacements des individus liés à l’orgue (artisans et commanditaires), à partir de trois centres principaux : la Toscane, la Vénétie et la Lombardie. La compilation de contrats de commande ou d’embauche prend la forme d’une base de données d’environ six cent cinquante entrées. En plus de fournir des informations techniques, ce corpus documentaire permet d’étudier le processus de professionnalisation des organistes et des facteurs, en rapport constant avec leurs employeurs et mécènes. L’aspect communautaire qui ressort des commandes est resitué dans le contexte plus large des relations économiques et diplomatiques entre les différents États italiens. La figure du commanditaire apparaît alors comme centrale dans la diffusion de l’orgue a la moderna et des pratiques professionnelles qui l’accompagnent. / This thesis offers a social, technical and cultural study of the Renaissance Italian organ. It aims to determine the specificities of practices related to the organ from the 1430s to the mid XVIth century. Brunelleschi’s building of two organ galleries in the cathedral of Florence marks a profound shift in the conception of the organ’s place—a shift that is both spatial (it affects the space of the liturgy) and symbolic. Such a displacement made it necessary for organ builders to adapt their craft. Those innovations are essential characteristics of the organ a la moderna. The diffusion of new aesthetic criteria by craftsmen and their employers can be traced back to three main regions: Tuscany, Veneto and Lombardy. A compilation of buying and hiring agreements is structured as a database of around six hundred and fifty entries. In addition to providing technical data, this corpus makes it possible to study the progressive professionalization of organists and organ builders, in relation to their employers and patrons. The community involved in the process of building the organs is also put back in the broader context of the economic and diplomatic relations between Italian states. The employer therefore becomes a key figure in the diffusion of the organ a la moderna and the professional skills and habits that it involves.

J’explore de nouvelles façons d’étudier l’histoire et l’historicité de la perception, à travers un double portrait du psychologue francophone Albert Michotte, et de la collection de ses disques en papier. Leur interaction produit de nouvelles images expérimentales, éclaircissant les complexités de la perception. J’ai navigué différents archives, archives d'objets et collections d’instruments en Belgique, en France et en Allemagne. La découverte de nouvelles sources et mes ré-animations historiques m’ont permis de combiner l’histoire des sciences et l’étude des médias, touchant sur l’histoire de la philosophie et de la religion. Le portrait de Michotte dévoile une figure qui fait le pont entre différents paradigmes psychologiques, science et religion, filmologie et phénoménologie expérimentale, aussi bien qu’un diplomate des sciences traversant deux guerres, des politiques religieuses et des changements institutionnels. Etudier les paradoxes qu’il incarnait devient ainsi un outil d’historiographie. Le portrait des disques, contextualisé en termes de 'contextes d’action', montre comment ils sont liés à la pratique expérimentale, le cinéma, l’art et la culture matérielle du laboratoire. Ce double portrait montre comment Michotte et les disques créèrent ensemble des images en mouvement afin d’étudier les perceptions dynamiques, telle que la perception de la causalité. Le mouvement est essentiel à cette thèse, car il permet de comprendre comment de telles perceptions son générées et transportées. L’étude de ces perceptions permet de saisir comment la perception dépend d’un contexte, se forme à travers des inter-actions, et change – montrant son historicité. / I explore new ways to study the history and historicity of perception, through a double portrait: of the francophone psychologist Albert Michotte, and of a set of well-preserved rotating paper discs. In their interaction, new experimental images were generated, shedding light on the intricacy of perception. I have searched different archives, object-archives and instrument collections in Belgium, France and Germany. Newly discovered sources, together with my historical re-animations, allowed me to combine history of science with media studies, in close interaction with the history of philosophy and religion.The portrait of Michotte shows a bridging-figure between different psychological paradigms, science and religion, filmology and experimental phenomenology, performing science diplomacy to navigate two wars, religious politics and institutional change. Studying the paradoxes he embodied is developed into a historiographical tool. The portrait of the discs, contextualised in terms of 'action contexts', shows how they related to experimental practice, cinema, art and the material culture of the laboratory. This dynamic double portrait shows how Michotte and the discs together create moving images for the study of dynamic perceptions, such as the perception of causality. Motion is central to this thesis, not only for explaining the dynamic perception of movements, but especially for understanding how such perceptions are generated and transported. Studying these 'movement-perceptions' makes it possible to grasp how perception is context dependent, how it is shaped through inter-actions, and how it changes – giving it a history.